text sizesmallerlarger
Find a Park
by Facility / Activity
by Alphabetical Listing
by Location
Make a Reservation
BC Parks HomepageThings to DoPreserving our LegacyDiscoveryOur FutureBC Parks Office
 
 
E-mail this Page to a Friend...

 


.........................................................................................................................................................

Bugaboo Provincial Park

 
Activities Availabe At This Park Facilities Available At This Park
Activities Availabe At This Park

A campfire ban is currently in effect for this park. For more information about campfire bans and about provincial parks with park closures and campfire bans in effect, visit the BC Parks campfire ban webpage.

 

As of October 27, 2009

  • Trail Updates
  • This website will not be updated regularly until the summer season begins in June.
  • The Kain Hut is available for overnight bookings through the Alpine Club until November 15th. During this time the hydroelectric, propane, water, and grey water systems at the hut are not operational. Bring your own cookstoves and be prepared for winter conditions.
  • From November 16th to April 30th the hut is closed to all overnight use due to avalanche hazard.
  • On May 1st the hut is once again open to the public but the systems are not operational until the end of June when the hut is staffed on a full-time basis. Contact the Alpine Club for more information or bookings.
  • Please note that fires and domestic animals are prohibited within the park.
Back To Top

Park Info

Bugaboo Provincial Park
June 3rd, 2009 aerial view of Crescent Glacier

Bugaboo Provincial Park, situated in the Purcell Mountains of southeast British Columbia, continues to draw climbers from around the world to its airy, glacier-sculpted granite spires. With many peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation the Bugaboo’s offer awe inspiring mountain and glacier terrain.

The Conrad Kain Hut is maintained by BC Parks and the Alpine Club of Canada. This base camp for climbers operates to reduce visitor impacts on the fragile timberline area below Snowpatch Spire.

Road access to the park is relatively easy via logging roads but hiking trails are few. Inexperienced or ill-equipped climbers and hikers should forego a visit here in favour of less demanding areas of the province.

Click here to view a non-government web link, for additional information.

Park Size: 13,646.60 hectares

Special Notes:

  • Bugaboo Provincial Park is a remote area. Persons intending to visit the Bugaboos must realize there are no supplies, equipment or transportation arrangements of any kind available in the park. Visitors must be prepared for outdoor living in a mountain environment. Hut accommodation is not available in winter because of avalanche dangers.
  • It is recommended that visitors protect their vehicle perimeter with a portable chicken wire fence to deter porcupines and other small animals from chewing on rubber brake lines and tires.
  • National Topographic Series Maps 82K/10 (Howser Creek) and 82K/15 (Bugaboo Creek) are at a scale of 1:50,000 and cover all but the western limits of the park. These maps are available from Government Agents and most map retailers in British Columbia.
  • 'The Bugaboos - One of the World's Great Alpine Rockclimbing Centres' is a comprehensive and accurate guidebook to climbing and mountaineering in Bugaboo Park. It is written by Chris Atkinson and Marc Piche and published by Elaho Publishing (ISBN # 0-9733035-1-4).
Back To Top

General Visitor Information

Persons visiting Bugaboo Provincial Park are reminded that the park is a wilderness area, without supplies or equipment of any kind. All arrangements for supplies and transportation must be made beforehand.

All park visitors should wear strong waterproofed, lug-soled boots and carry a daypack with raingear, extra warm clothing and food. Weather conditions can change suddenly in this area and lightning storms with hail and snow are common in summer. For overnight trips a sleeping bag, groundpad, waterproof tent or bivouac bag and lightweight stove are essential. Only experienced climbers practiced in crevasse rescue and properly roped should venture onto snowfields and glaciers.

Loaded logging trucks and other industrial traffic may be encountered while accessing this park. Drive with extreme caution and for your safety always yield to industrial traffic.
Climbers should check with the hut keepers on current conditions and destinations before departure. A register is kept in the Conrad Kain Hut for this purpose and your convenience. Climbers are responsible for their own safety; rescue services are not readily available. Public communications services are not available.

Back To Top

Location

Bugaboo Provincial Park is located in southeastern B.C., between Golden and Radium Hot Springs, and west of Highway 95. Access to the park is about 50km of gravel road from Hwy #95. This gravel road, which opens late spring through late fall, begins at Brisco, 27 kilometres north of Radium Hot Springs or 76 km south of Golden on Highway 95. A 4x4 is not required but a 2wd with some decent ground clearance is recommended. The last 3km section of the gravel road is rough; low-riding compact vehicles need to go slow to avoid scraping the bottom. It is recommended that visitors protect their vehicle perimeter with a portable chicken wire fence to deter porcupines and other small animals from chewing on rubber brake lines and tires.

Access to the northern portions of the park via the Vowell and Malloy Creek drainages is possible by leaving Highway 95 at Spillimacheen, north of Brisco, then crossing the Columbia River and turning left on the West Side Road. After travelling 0.8 km, turn right onto Bobbie Burns Creek drainage and drive past the lodge of the same name. Logging roads up Vowell Creek and Malloy Creek lead to semi-open terrain which can be hiked into the park. The status of bridges in inactive logging areas may vary in upper drainages.

Back To Top

Nature & Culture

Back To Top
Back To Top

Map / Brochure

Any maps listed are for information only - they may not represent legal boundaries and should not be used for navigation.

Back To Top

Reservations

Walk-in or wilderness camping is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Conrad Kain Hut is available for overnight accommodation for a maximum of 35 persons. Reservations may be made through the Alpine Club of Canada at 403-678-3200 or through the Alpine Club of Canada website.

Any unreserved spaces are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. During the peak climbing months of July and August the hut is often full - reservations are highly recommended.

Back To Top

Activities Available At This Park

Climbing / Repelling

Climbing

The spectacular Bugaboo Spires attract all levels of well-equipped climbers. There are a few easy to moderate routes, but most routes involve crossing the Glaciers and negotiating difficult traverses. Crampons, ice-axe and ropes are essential.
Hiking

Hiking

There are hikes that do not require technical mountaineering skills. Trails to Conrad Kain Hut and Cobalt Lake offer superb scenic values for the experienced, physically fit and well equipped hiker. Here is more trail Information. For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroy plant life and soil structure.
Hunting

Hunting

Hunting is permitted in Bugaboo Provincial Park subject to the following conditions
No person shall possess a firearm, bow or crossbow in a park, conservancy or recreation area except a firearm, bow or crossbow that is carried in a vehicle and during an open season specified under the Wildlife Act and no person is permitted to discharge a firearm, bow or crossbow in a park, conservancy or recreation area except during an open season specified under the Wildlife Act and only for the purposes of hunting.

Also, no person shall hunt or discharge a firearm, bow or crossbow in a park, conservancy or recreation area within 400 metres of either side of the centreline of a park road or highway.

Back To Top

Facilities Available At This Park

Cabins / Huts / Yurts

Cabins / Huts / Yurts

The Conrad Kain Hut is available for overnight accommodation for a maximum of 35 persons. Reservations may be made through the Alpine Club of Canada at 403-678-3200 or through the Alpine Club of Canada website.

Any unreserved spaces are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. During the peak climbing months of July and August the hut is often full - reservations are highly recommended.

A small hydroelectric plant provides power for electric lighting and cooking, with propane stoves and lamps as backup to the electrical system. The kitchen is supplied with hot and cold running water as well as all necessary cooking and eating utensils. Foam mattresses are provided in the dormitory-style sleeping quarters located on the second floor and in the loft. Visitors must bring all other necessary equipment and utensils.

A nightly, per-person fee is levied during the period June 1 - September 30. Occupancy is limited to seven consecutive days. Fees are payable to the Alpine Club of Canada.

The Alpine Club of Canada charges the following fees for use of the cabin:

Drinking Water

Drinking Water

There are hot and cold water taps in the Kain Hut. To ensure drinking water is safe it must be boiled for at least 5 minutes.
Group Camping

Group Camping

There is group camping allowed in the Conrad Kain Hut. Practice a no trace visit. Do not leave food or garbage in the hut.
Picnic Areas

Picnic Areas

This park has a day-use/picnic area at the Kain Hut.
Pit or Flush Toilets

Pit or Flush Toilets

This park has pit toilets - no flush toilets. There are two pit toilets located near the Kain Hut for users of the Hut and Boulder Camp. There is also one pit toilet located at Mt. Applebea campground and in the parking lot at the trailhead. Where there is adequate soil (at least 6 inches) but no toilets, bury human waste and burn toilet paper, otherwise collect and deposit human waste in toilets.
Walk-In/Wilderness Camping

Walk-In/Wilderness Camping

Wilderness, backcountry or walk-in camping is allowed. Backcountry campgrounds are provided at Boulder Camp below the Conrad Kain Hut and on the bare rock slabs of Applebee Dome, 1km above the Conrad Kain Hut. A per-person fee is in effect at these campgrounds, payable at a self-registration station located inside the Conrad Kain Hut. To prevent contamination of the water supply and damage to the sensitive alpine environment, camping in the park is not permitted elsewhere in the vicinity of the main spires (Bugaboo, Snowpatch, Crescent, Pigeon, Howsers). Bivouacking is not permitted unless circumstances dictate it's necessity. Wilderness camping is allowed in other, more remote areas of the park, such as the Vowell Group. Leave-no-trace wilderness camping ethics should be utilized.

Backcountry Camping Fee: $5.00 per person / night, for all persons 13 years of age or older
Back To Top